Toy power shovel



Nov. 12, 1957 w. E. NISPERLYV 2,812,869

- TOY POWER SHOVEL Filed Nov; 17, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. (444L762 5. N/SPEZLY A rramsys TOY POWER SHOVEL Walter-"E: Nisperly, Glen Dale, W. Va., assignor to Louis Marx & Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporationzof New York;

Application November 17,1954, Serial No. 469,421

7' Claims. (Cl. 214-438) This inventionrelates to toys, and more particularly to toy power shovels.

The primary object of the invention is to provide an improvedtoy. whichqsimulates the. operation of a power shovel, A morespecific, objectis to provide mechanical linkage devoid of cords, pulleys and the like, to move the scoop forwardly, upwardly, rearwardly, and downwardly with an effective shovel action. A. still further object of the invention is to arrange improved mechanism for automatic. dumping of the load while the scoop isin raised position.

To accomplish the foregoing general objects, and other morespecific. objects which will hereinafter appear, my invention resides in the toy power shovel elements, and their relation oneto. another, as. are hereinafter more particularly described inthe following specification. The specification isaccompaniedby drawings, in which:

Fig. l-is a side elevation of a toy power shovel'embodying features .of. my invention;

Fig. v2 isa side elevation witha partof the cab broken away, toexpose the internal mechanism, and showing-the linkage in a second position;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the, linkage. in a thirdv position, and with the cab turned for dumping;

Fig. 4 is a view showing the linkage in a fourth-position;

Fig.. 5 is a transverse section,taken approximately in the plane of the line 5-5 of. Fig. 4;,

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken approximately in the plane oftheline. 66of Fig.1; and

Fig. 7 is a. fragmentary section explanatory of the pivoting. of, the, cab on the, chassis.

Referring. to the. drawing, and more particularly to Fig. l, the toy power. shovel there shown comprises a cab 12 carrying a...boom 14-which is pivoted on the cab at 16. The pivot 16- ispreferably located-near the top of the cab, and in the. present case, the bearings 18 for the pivot pin 16 are turned upward from a sloping deck 2th which extends across most of the width of the cab, except at one side Where the cab isv upright, as shown at 22, toform a station for the operator of the mechanism. This will be clear from inspection of Fig. 5 showing the sloping deck 20 carrying the bearings 18 for the pivot pin l6 of'the-boom 14, the latter being an inverted channel in section. The simulated station for the operator is indicated. at 22;

Reverting to Fig. 1, the toy power shovel further comprises a scoop arm 24? pivoted at 26 on the boom 14, and a scoop-28 fixedly carried at the end of the scoop arm 24. There is a crank mechanism in the cab, preferably comprisinga single main crank 30. There is. also a boom extension 32 which is formed" rigidly with the boom 14, and. which preferably extendsrearwardly and downwardly. Asi'sperhapsmoreclearly shown: in Fig. 2,. the: boom: extension; is longitudinally: slotted: at- 34 to receive the crank 34): Inasmuch as. the boom exnited? States Patent 0 duced.to accomplish that purpose.

tension is rigid with the boom-it will be evident that rotation of the crank causes an oscillation of the boom.

Another main part of the toy is a scoop arm link 36, which preferably extends generally collaterally of the boom and which is preferably located beneath the boom as shown. In fact this member might be termed an auxiliary boom, but because its motion is directedmainly to the scoop arml term it a scoop arm link. The link 36v i's connected at its, rear end38 tothe crank 36, and is connected at itsforward end to the scoop arm 24 by means of a pivot 40, which .is displaced from the pivot 26.

The toy further comprises rneansto rotate the crank 39. In the, presentcase this-.is simply a handle 42 which turns the, crank 39 through reduction gearing. The reduction gearing comprises a pinion 44-on handle 42, and a large gear '46. on theshaft 48 of. crank 30, but an idler pinion 49 is preferably-interposed between pinion 44 and geart46, as shoWninFig. 2, for reversing the direction of rotation. More specifically, the crank 30 is intended toturn clockwise as viewed inthe drawing, and inasmuch as it is more convenient and natural for a child playing with the toy to turn the handle 42"clockwise rather, than counterclockwise, the idler 49 is intro- Referringto Fig. 5, it will be seen that the crank shaft 48 extends entirely across the cab. The crank 39 is preferablylongin axial-direction in order to receive the spaeedzapart sides 59' and 52 of the extension 32 of boom 14. The scoop arm link 36 also has an inverted channelsection, butisnarrower than the boom, and thus its rear end 38 isreceived on crank 30 between the sides 5!} and52tof the boom. extension. If desired the crank 30 may be offset somewhat as indicated at 54, thus increasing the radius or, throw of the crank as applied to the link36, and also locating the link against sidcward movement along, the crank. The gear 46 is located-near one end of, crank shaft 48 at: the side of the cab carrying the handle 42.

The shovel-action of the toy will,be seen by comparison of Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4. which show the relation of the parts in successive positions. of the main crank 30,- said' positions being approximately ninety degrees apart. In Fig.1 the crank 30extends rearward, and the scoop 28 is in lowered rearward position. In Fig. 2 the crank extends upwardand the scoopthas been moved forward and'upward. to a position beyond the limit of the drawing. In Fig. 3 the crank has turned to forward position and the scoop has been raised to maximum height but has already, been moved rearward. In Fig. 4 the crank has turned to downward position and the scoop has been lowered and is moving downward preparatory to the next shoveling motion. Many intermediate positions ofthe scoop might be shown, but those shown are sufiicient to.understand the principle underlying the operation of the linkage.

The toy is further provided with means for automatic dumping of the,load. carried by the scoop. Referring to Fig. 1, the rear wall 60 of the'scoop is a door which is pivoted at 62, and which has an arm 64 connected to a stiff wire link 66. Referring to Fig. 6, the pivot 62 is a rod extending acrossthe width of the scoop. The door has ears 68 bent forwardly to receive the pivot 62. The door is extended upwardlyv as indicated at '70, and is normally keptclosed by a resilient means, specifically a wire spring 7.2:coiledrepeatedly about the rod 62, and having one end 74bearing' against the upward extension 70 of the door, .andhaving its other end 76 bearing against the wall 73 of the scoop. That also is the wall which is rigidly secured to the scoop arm 24.

The arm 64 previously referred to is formed by bending a bearing ear out of the surface of the wall 70, and

the end of rod 66 is received in a hole in the said bearing ear.

The upper end of link 66 is turned sideward at 80 (Fig. 1), and is received in a cam slot 82 cut through a cam member 34 forming a rigid part fixed at the forward end of the boom 14. It will be seen that the cam slot 82 is generally transverse of the longitudinal axis of the boom 14, but that it has at its upper end a short sideward offset 86 directed forwardly of the boom. A light pull and the link 66.

The resulting operation of the linkage shown may again be described with reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the drawing. In Fig. 1 the pin 80 is idle in the cam slot, and the scoop door 60 is closed because of the spring 72. In Fig. 2 the scoop has been raised but is still closed. However, the relationship of the linkage is such that the pin 80 has moved to the upper end of the cam slot and enters the offset 86. In Fig. 3 the scoop has moved rear- St) remains caught in the offset 86. The distance between the scoop and the offset 86 increases as the scoop arm 24 comes into a more nearly perpendicular relation to the boom 14. This causes the link 66 to pull the door 60 open as shown.

In Fig. 4 the scoop arm 24 has turned downwardly to a position substantially at right angles to the boom 14, but at this time the pin 84 escapes from the offset 86, for the pull of link 66 is in a direction substantially parallel to the offset. Thus the spring 72 of the scoop snaps the door 60 closed, moving the link from 66 to 66, and the door remains closed as the scoop goes into its next shoveling cycle.

In Fig. 3 it will be seen that the cab 12 and boom 14 perpendicular to the caterpillar treads 90 (looking from above), whereas in Fig. 1 the cab and boom are substantially parallel to the caterpillar treads. Thus the shovel does not merely pick up a load and drop it back in substantially its original position, to be again picked up, and so on, although a child will be amused even by that simple repeated operation. In more realistic play, after the scoop has shoveled forward and upward, as indicated by the change to Fig. 2, the cab and boom are swung sideward (or even rearward) to a new position, which may be over a toy truck or the like intended to receive the load. As the handle 42 then is turned further the scoop moves rearward and opens directly over the truck, thus dropping its load into the truck. The cab is then tion, whereupon the rotation of the handle is resumed for another shoveling cycle.

The shafts of handle 42 and idler 49 should not extend entirely across the cab, for that would interfere with osare localized at the side of the cab, and referring to Figs. 2 and the shafts are carried in an inverted U-shaped frame having a top wall 43 and side walls 45 and 47. The frame is secured, as by spot welding, with side wall 45 against the inside surface of the side of the cab. The top wall 43 is preferably slotted somewhat in its forward end, as indicated at 51, in order to afford adequate clearance for the large gear 46. In Fig. 5 it will be seen that the wall 47 is located outside the arm 50 of the boom extension 32, so that there is no interference with movement of the boom extension.

Other details of the toy are of less importance, and may follow conventional practice in the construction of toys. The chassis consists of an upwardly dished sheet metal body 2 carrying forward and rear axles 94 and 96 with wheels 98 and 100. Caterpillar treads may be molded of rubber, and are secured about the wheels 98 and 100 in conventional fashion. A circular area of the top surface of the chassis 92 is preferably dished upardly somewhat, as indicated at 102. The generally spring 88 may be connected between the scoop arm 24 L ward and the relation of the parts is such that the pin have been turned sideward to a position approximately swung back from the truck to the original shoveling posicillation of the boom extension 32. Instead these shafts rectangular bottom 104 of the cab is peripherally flanged downward to rigidify the same, and to improve its appearance. A circular area corresponding to the part 102 is dished downward, as indicated at 106. These parts bear on each other, and the diameter is preferably suflicient to keep the cab stable on the chassis.

The parts may be pivoted together in any desired fashion, one method being shown in Fig. 7, in which it will be seen that the part 166 has a relatively large hole punched therethrough, and the part 102 is drawn upward to provide an eyelet 110, the top edge of which is expanded or spun outward at 112, thus securing the parts rotatably together.

The top and side walls of the cab 12 may be formed as a unit, and the bottom edges of the side walls may be provided with tongues indicated at 114 in Fig. 4. These tongues are received in mating slots in the bottom plate 104, and are subsequently bent or twisted to lock the parts together. It will be understood that the operating mechanism of the toy is assembled in the cab as shown in Fig. 5, before the cab is secured to the bottom.

The side walls of the cab are provided with appropriate openings and indentations simulating windows, doors, and engine radiator passages.

If desired a searchlight may be provided, as is shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This comprises a reflector 116 carrying a lamp bulb 118 of the flashlight type. The reflector is pivoted at 120 on a horizontal axis in a yoke 122 which is itself pivoted for rotation about a vertical axis. The lamp is energized by a single cell of the flashlight type, indicated at 124 (Fig. 2). The circuit may be controlled by a switch 126.

It is believed that the construction and operation as well as the advantages of my improved toy power shovel, will be apparent from the foregoing detailed description thereof. It will also be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in a preferred form, changes may be made in the structure shown without departing from the scope of the invention, as sought to be defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A toy power shovel comprising a boom, a scoop arm pivoted on said boom, a scoop carried by said scoop arm, a door pivotally mounted on and forming a bottom wall of the scoop when the scoop is raised, resilient means for normally urging said door to closed position, operating means to move the scoop forwardly, upwardly, rearwardly, and downwardly with a shovel action, and dump means to automatically open the door against the force of said resilient means when the scoop is being moved rearwardly in raised position, said dump means comprising a slotted cam element fixedly secured at the end of the boom, and a stiff dump link connected at one end to said pivoted door and having its other end movable in said cam slot, said cam slot being so shaped that the scoop door is opened as the scoop moves rearwardly in raised position, and is closed the rest of the time.

2. A toy power shovel comprising a boom, a scoop arm pivoted on said boom, a scoop carried by said scoop arm, a door pivotally mounted on and forming a bottom Wall of the scoop when the scoop is raised, resilient means for normally holding said door closed, operating means to move the scoop forwardly, upwardly, rearwardly, and downwardly with a shovel action, and dump means to automatically open the door when the scoop is being moved rearwardly in raised position, said dump means comprising a slotted cam element fixedly secured at the end of the boom, the cam slot in said element being generally transverse of the longitudinal axis of the boom, but having at its upper end a short sideward olfset directed forwardly of the boom, and a stiff dump link connected at one end to a rearward extension of said pivoted door and having its other end movable in said cam slot, the arrangement being such that the scoop door is opened as the scoop moves rearwardly in raised position, and is closed the rest of the time.

3. A toy power shovel comprising a cab, a boom pivoted on said cab, a scoop arm pivoted on said boom, a scoop carried by said scoop arm, a single main crank adapted for continuous rotation in one direction in said cab, a boom extension from the pivoted portion of the boom, said boom extension being longitudinally slotted to receive the crank, a scoop arm link connected at its rear end to the crankand connected at its forward end to the scoop arm at a point displaced from the scoop arm pivot, means to rotate the crank continuously in one direction, said parts acting as a linkage to cause the scoop to move forwardly, upwardly, rearwardly, and downwardly with a shovel action, and dump means to automatically open the door when the scoop is being moved rearwardly in raised position, said dump means comprising a slotted cam element fixedly secured at the end of the boom, and a stilf dump link connected at one end to said pivoted door and having its other end movable in said cam slot, said cam slot being so shaped that the scoop door is opened as the scoop moves rearwardly in raised position, and is closed the rest of the time.

4. A toy power shovel comprising a cab, a boom pivoted on said cab, a scoop arm pivoted on said boom, a scoop carried by said scoop arm, a single main crank in said cab, a boom extension from the pivoted portion of the boom, said boom extension being longitudinally slotted to receive the crank, a scoop arm link connected at its rear end to the crank and connected at its forward end to the scoop arm at a point displaced from the scoop arm pivot, means to rotate the crank, said parts acting as a linkage to cause the scoop to move forwardly, upwardly, rearwardly, and downwardly with a shovel action, and dump means to automatically open the door when the scoop is being moved rearwardly in raised position, said dump means comprising a slotted cam element fixedly secured at the end of the boom, the cam slot in said element being generally transverse of the horizontal axis of the boom, but having at its upper end a short sideward ofiset directed forwardly of the boom, and a stiff dump link connected at one end to a rearward extension of said pivoted door and having its other end movable in said cam slot, the arrangement being such that the scoop door is opened as the scoop moves rearwardly in raised posi tion, and is closed the rest of the time.

5. A toy power shovel comprising a cab, a boom pivoted on said cab near the top of the cab, a scoop arm pivoted on said boom, a scoop carried by said scoop arm, a single main crank adapted for continuous rotation in one direction in said cab, a boom extension directed rearwardly and downwardly from the pivoted portion of the boom, said boom extension being longitudinally slotted to receive the crank, a scoop arm link extending generally collaterally of and beneath the boom, said link being connected at its rear end to the crank and being connected at its forward end to the scoop arm at a point displaced from the scoop arm pivot, and means to rotate the crank continuously in one direction, said parts acting as a linkage to cause the scoop to move forwardly, upwardly, rearwardly, and downwardly with a shovel action, and dump means to automatically open the door when the scoop is being moved rearwardly in raised position, said dump means comprising a slotted cam element fixedly secured at the end of the boom, and a stiff dump link connected at one end to said pivoted door and having its other end movable in said cam slot, said cam slot being so shaped that the scoop door is opened as the scoop moves rearwardly in raised position, and is closed the rest of the time.

6. A top power shovel comprising a cab, a boom pivoted on said cab near the top of the cab, a scoop arm pivoted on said boom, a scoop carried by said scoop arm, a single main crank in said cab, a boom extension directed rearwardly and downwardly from the pivoted portion of the boom, said boom extension being longitudinally slotted to receive the crank, a scoop arm link extending generally collaterally of and beneath the boom, said link being connected at its rear end to the crank and being connected at its forward end to the scoop arm at a point displaced from the scoop arm pivot, and means to rotate the crank, said parts acting as a linkage to cause the scoop to move forwardly, upwardly, rearwardly, and downwardly with a shovel action, and dump means to automatically open the door when the scoop is being moved rearwardly in raised position, said dump means comprising a slotted cam element fixedly secured at the end of the boom, the cam slot in said element being generally transverse of the horizontal axis of the boom, but having at its upper end a short sideward offset directed forwardly of the boom, and a stiff dump link connected at one end to a rearward extension of said pivoted door and having its other end movable in said cam slot, the arrangement being such that the scoop door is opened as the scoop moves rearwardly in raised position, and is closed the rest of the time.

7. A toy power shovel comprising a cab, a boom pivoted on said cab, a scoop arm pivoted on said boom, a scoop carried by said scoop arm, a single main crank shaft adapted for continuous rotation in one direction in said cab, said crank shaft being a single length of round rod shaped to provide a center crank portion of one radius and side crank portions of difierent radius, a boom extension from the pivoted portion of the boom, said boom extension being bifurcated to form spaced parts which both are longitudinally slotted to receive the side crank portions respectively, a scoop arm link connected at its rear end to the center crank portion and connected at its forward end to the scoop arm at a point displaced from the scoop arm pivot, said scoop arm link being held in position on the center crank by the radial offset of the center crank relative to the side cranks, and means to rotate the crank continuously in one direction, said parts acting as a linkage to cause the scoop to move forwardly, upwardly, rearwardly, and downwardly with a shovel action.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,045,072 Parker Nov. 19, 1912 1,263,387 Dunkelberger Apr. 23, 1918 1,302,857 Sabina May 6, 1919 2,538,000 Hoar Ian. 16, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 917,896 Germany Sept. 13, 1954 

